On The Legal Limits Of Media Reporting In Sexual Crimes

With the development of information technology and the emergence of new forms of media,the impact of the media is not only extended to all aspects of the society, but also graduallypenetrated into our daily lives. Meanwhile, the highly commercialized media sometimes violatesthe journalistic ethics for economy interests. Therefore, except strengthen self-discipline of mediaindustry, it is necessary to pass laws on media behaviors and draw scientific and reasonableboundaries. Sexual offenses, as it has great social impact, it tends to attract people’s attention andbecomes the focus of media. However, such cases usually involve parties’ privacy. Once they gobeyond reasonable limits; it will become abuse of freedom and has bad influence to independentjudicial power. Therefore, media reports of criminal cases need the legal boundaries and effectivelegal sanctions are particularly urgent.At present, although there are a few regulatory requirements in reporting criminal cases, thereis still blank in high-order laws. In this context, I analysis Canadian statutory publication ban, tryto explore its reasonable aspects and learn how to benefit our country. Criminal Code of Canadaprovides identity publication ban and evidence publication ban which are defined in jurisprudencein detail. Identity publication ban, not only protected in claimant and witnesses, under certainconditions, it protects the defendant. It also establishes a “could identify” information standard.Evidence publication ban is the ban on the evidence like victims sexual experience. Violation ofthe ban means civil liability. Such liability may be borne by either the journalist, or the seniormanagement of the relevant media.Through comparative analysis, I believe that our country should protect the freedom of media.Based on that protection, the law should draw a reasonable boundary for the media like Canadianstatutory publication ban system. Combined with current national conditions, there are threeaspects we can do to improve. First, improve the legislation system and establish new law rules forthe media report including the scope of protection, the competent authorities, regulatoryinstruments, and the main responsibility. Second, we should strengthen the independence of thejudicial system and promote the disclosure of judicial information. Third, the media industryshould improve the self-regulation. The media and its practitioners should adhere to journalisticethics; avoid reporting excessive detail in sex crimes, report in independent, objective andimpartial manner to protect their own credibility.